Fischler Report: Seguin surging, You Can Play gaining steam

After tallying only 22 points in his rookie year,
Boston’s Tyler Seguin has been a vital asset to the Bs
offense. The second-overall pick in the 2010 Draft currently leads
the Bruins with 58 points.

Our man in Beantown, Jared Lane, interviewed Seguin on the
following topics.

IMPROVING EVERY DAY:
I’ve improved with experience and confidence. It dates back
to the summer, working out and knowing what I needed to do. There
are a lot of things I have to get better at. I’ve learned to
be smarter in the defensive zone. My main emphasis is to be a
solid two-way player.

NOT PLAYING ON THE FIRST LINE:
I wasn’t surprised when Claude Julien moved me off the first
line. I love playing with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, but I
know things had to change in order to generate more offense. Coach
Julien felt he needed too switch things up for a spark.

PLAYING WITH DAVID KREJCI AND MILAN LUCIC:
I don’t know if I can take credit for getting David back on
his game, but when I played with Milan Lucic at the beginning of
the year, I knew we had chemistry. I haven’t had too much
time with Krejci before, so I need to play my role and bring my
speed on this line.

SELECTED AS AN ALL-STAR:
I feel honored and privileged. I couldn’t have done it
myself. I give a lot of praise to my teammates. I was surprised
when I first found out, but it’s a dream come true. Last year
I went to the All-Star Game and I was fortunate enough to be one of
the rookies selected. It was just a fantastic experience.

RIVARLY WITH MONTREAL:
There’s always going to be a rivalry between Montreal and
Boston no matter what because of the pride that comes with being an
Original Six match-up. Last year it was a bit tighter, but the Habs
still give us a tough game every time we play them no matter if
they are lower in the standings. Two teams out there who dislike
each other always makes for a good game.

PATRICE BERGERON:
The biggest thing with Patrice is his consistency. He’s the
most consistent player I’ve ever played with. Night in, night
out, he’s competing. He works really hard at every end of the
ice, and because of his effort, we are rewarded.

HOCKEY AS TOM MURRAY SEES THE GAME

Tom Murray, former editor-in-chief of The Hockey News, is a
longtime TV newscaster who played collegiate hockey in
Boston. For years, Murray has been one of the most expert
hockey chroniclers and we at TFR are honored to add his
column, “As Tom Terrific Sees It,” to our
newsletter. The following is the first of what will be regular
contributions from Murray to TFR:

Been thinking a lot lately about Brendan Burke and Tyler Clementi,
two young men who died seven months apart in 2010.

Clementi was just three weeks into his freshman year at Rutgers
University that September when he learned his roommate used a
webcam to spy on him and another man. The roommate sent out Twitter
and text messages alerting and urging others to watch when the man
returned to visit Clementi two nights later.

When Clementi found out, he jumped to his death from the George
Washington Bridge. He was 21 years old. Burke, also 21, died
along with a passenger earlier that year when his SUV slid out of
control and into the path of an oncoming truck.

Like Clementi, Burke was gay and had only recently come out to
his friends and family. His dad, Maple Leafs president and GM Brian
Burke (Providence, R.I.), not only accepted his son and told him he
loved him, but promised he’d march with Brendan in the Gay
Pride parade in Toronto.

As for Brendan’s friends, many of them were players on the
hockey team at Miami of Ohio, where Brendan was the student manager
and Rico Blasi is the coach.

“I told him I really didn’t care, and he was part of
our family and that was his choice and doesn’t change the way
we feel about him.”

The concept of family isn’t just a word with Blasi and his
team.

The Redhawks proudly refer to themselves as “The
Brotherhood” and their one-for-all-all-for-one approach is
the cornerstone of the program. Bolstered by the support from
his father and Blasi, Brendan had the strength and confidence to
tell the guys on the team.

Pat Cannone was first to hear the news.

“I don’t care, Burkie,” Cannone responded.
“You’re a great friend. This has no bearing on how we
feel about you.”

The rest of the guys felt the same way.

And it is their understanding, compassion and empathy that is the
essence of You Can Play – a noble project whose mission is
“dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all
athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.”

The co-founder of the initiative is Brendan’s brother
Patrick (Canton, Mass.), a scout for the Flyers, who concedes that
before his brother revealed he was gay, Patrick casually used that
word as an insult – like millions of other kids around the
world.

Of course, we adults aren’t exactly immune as far as
contributing to a lengthy history of insensitivity and innocuous
banter on this particular topic.

Now eight NHL players, including Henrik Lundqvist of the
Rangers, Corey Perry of the Ducks and Daniel Alfredsson of the
Senators, are appearing in public service messages for You Can
Play. Plus, 35 more players have committed their support. Slowly
but surely attitudes are changing.

“There are gay men in professional hockey,” says
Burke. “We would be fools to think otherwise and it’s
sad they feel the need to conceal this.”

Hopefully, with time, they won’t have to.

And hopefully initiatives like You Can Play will continue to
change hearts, minds and attitudes not only in sports, but
everywhere. Which brings us back to Clementi, a shy kid who played
violin and was trying to figure out his place in the world.

Last week his Rutgers roommate Dharun Ravi, 20, was convicted on
all of the 15 charges he faced in what the jury deemed a hate
crime. He’ll be sentenced in May. Some of the charges carry
penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Two young lives, ruined.

All I could think of after reading the trial was what if someone
was there for Tyler Clementi when those tweets and texts flew
around in the same way Blasi and Cannone were there for Brendan
Burke?

Would that have changed anything? We’ll never know.

All we do know is the response Brendan received was
extraordinary. But the response was also sadly unusual, which is
why Tyler Clementi paid the ultimate price.

And why the message of You Can Play is so vital for a kid on
skates, sneakers or cleats. Or even for one who plays the
violin.

GOSSIP

Nassau County (NY) politicians have for years ignored Islanders
reasonable requests for help in building a new arena. Now they had
better take note of the scoreboard overhanging the Coliseum in
Uniondale. On all four sides it proclaims BARCLAYS CENTER and that
also appears on the arena’s message board. The message to
politicians is clear: not only are the Isles slated to play an
exhibition game with the Devils next fall at the new Brooklyn
arena, but implicit is the fact that the 14,500-seat (for hockey)
building could conceivably be the Isles next home. …

There are many ways to interpret this but the NHL’s
decision to scrap its opening season European games has a message.
The most obvious is that this is another shot across the bow in the
upcoming NHL-NHLPA battle. What’s the point of spending big
dough to arrange games that could conceivably be cancelled because
of a work stoppage. Most disturbing, in terms of labor
negotiations, is what is not happening. It was hoped that opening
talks between Donald Fehr and Gary Bettman would have been launched
immediately after the All-Star game. More than a month has passed
and still silence (not good!) According to insiders who know him
best, NHLPA boss Fehr is extremely deliberate – some would
call it “very slow” – in his reactions. Thus, the
NHL is left waiting for him to start the already-delayed process.
…

How serious is the Bruins goaltending problem? Marty Turco has
proven to be a sieve and Tim Thomas hardly looks like a reasonable
facsimile of a Vezina Trophy-winner. Add to that the dismal fact
that Tuukka Rask may not be the same goalie once he emerges from
his rehab. …

After losing only three regulation games in January and
February, Roberto Luongo has had his own version of March Madness,
allowing 16 goals in his last four appearances. Coach Alain
Vigneault would like to see an improved effort from his starter.
“Like other areas of our game, that’s one that can be
better,” explains the Canucks bench boss. “There are
points in games where a goaltender can stand and make big saves and
make a difference. There are things we need to clean up and we need
to get it up as a group.”